2022 Free agency thread

[WindyCity]

4 hours ago, AZBearsFan said:

Does Poles seem desperate to you? Because he doesn’t to me. For the offense he needs one starter on the OL, plus depth. He needs one starter at WR and it seems he wants that to be a drafted guy, but if not then there are a dozen vets that could be brought in to start for one year.

The desperation appears to me to lie solely within the fan base. 

We don’t have starters at RG, WR, CB2, SS

We have next to no depth at WR, OL, TE, LB, CB, S

Whether he feels or acts desperate does not change the fact that we have a ton of holes on the team.

Having to land a starting RG and WR in the draft is not how you want to enter into the draft. A gun to your head in round 2.

 

 

[WindyCity]

4 hours ago, Madmike90 said:

Agreed...I think the "needs" on offence are being overblown in some ways...as you said we need 1 OL & 1 WR on offence...sure depth is something you can always want more of and better quality of but that will take time and frankly shows the mess Pace left by aggressively trading up so much...if we come out of the 2nd round with a quality OL & WR prospect I think all will be good on that side of the ball to at least be competitive...if anything I see the fact we have 3 missing pieces on the back end of the defence as even more concerning at this point from an overall team point of view but there is no doubt in my mind our first 2 or 3 picks should go to the offence in order to help Fields' progression.

We just need to hit on all those picks.

That is a tough place to put yourself when the best drafting teams in the league often go 50/50 in the draft.

That is the pressure we are putting on this draft.

[Superman(DH23)]

36 minutes ago, WindyCity said:

We don’t have starters at RG, WR, CB2, SS

We have next to no depth at WR, OL, TE, LB, CB, S

Whether he feels or acts desperate does not change the fact that we have a ton of holes on the team.

Having to land a starting RG and WR in the draft is not how you want to enter into the draft. A gun to your head in round 2.

 

 

Relax Windy, we are still going to sign A LOT of guys.  We are in 2nd wave of FA right now.  We'll start to get a better idea of what Poles is doing before we enter the draft.  We are currently at 54 on the roster, assuming they don't add or give up picks, the draft will only bring it up to 60, that leaves 30 more guys to add before camp.  And the thing is, there are a lot of solid starters still out there in FA at every position we need.  Its time to sit back, see what happens on the next month and get ready for the draft.  I feel like we have this same convo every year whether its about who's going to get 50 targets, or who is starting at RG, or C, or CB, the roster doesn't have to be complete until the last weekend in August, and even then it's malleable.  We have a new direction, let's see where it goes. If it doesn't work, then you can burn it down, and if it does we can take the north and never give it back.

[beardown3231]

10 hours ago, Heinz D. said:

Yeah I'm serious that I wish Patrick was good. You don't? You're happy he's average?

[AZBearsFan]

1 hour ago, Superman(DH23) said:

I feel like we have this same convo every year whether its about who's going to get 50 targets, or who is starting at RG, or C, or CB, the roster doesn't have to be complete until the last weekend in August, and even then it's malleable.  We have a new direction, let's see where it goes. If it doesn't work, then you can burn it down, and if it does we can take the north and never give it back.

100% this. Especially the bolded part. I’m not sure why this part is so difficult for so many people to accept.

There are plenty of capable players out there, and more will hit the FA market in the next 6 weeks as the draft approaches and passes. If Poles goes into training camp counting on noteworthy contributions from rookies at WR and G and maybe CB it’s because he wants to do just that. It’s because he believes those players will give us a better chance to succeed than what was or is out there in FA. 

People lamented for years Pace’s style of signing copious amounts of FAs early in FA whose name has more value than their production on the field for the sake of trying to hold together something that wasn’t good enough in the first place, which both didn’t work and is the reason we’re where we are right now with somewhat limited financial assets, reduced draft capital and very few established young key contributors, yet Poles looks to take the opposite approach and that’s already being lamented too before we can even see what this looks like. Most felt the state of this roster needed a tear down to the studs. We had the oldest roster in the league last year and it wasn’t nearly good enough, so the new guy is purging old underwhelming players and looking to replace them with young and capable but also potentially ascending ones. He’s trying to build a team that can win for a long time, not one that will win in March of 2022. This is what a tear down to the studs looks like, yet now people are upset by it. Pick a lane.

[dll2000]

I was giving Pace relative credit for not leaving cupboard totally bare like his predecessors, but that was before I knew so many guys were out the door.

We are very comparable to 2017 roster talent level.  

I bet if we were a fly on wall Eber is verbally upset at his starting hand at moment. 

[AZBearsFan]

4 minutes ago, dll2000 said:

I was giving Pace relative credit for not leaving cupboard totally bare like his predecessors, but that was before I knew so many guys were out the door.

We are very comparable to 2017 roster talent level.  

I bet if we were a fly on wall Eber is verbally upset at his starting hand at moment. 

I would think Flus was well aware of what was coming roster-wise when he took the job. I have to think they would have talked about it during the interview, but even if they didn’t, it was an old and underperforming roster. That writing was certainly on the wall. 

[dll2000]

11 minutes ago, AZBearsFan said:

100% this. Especially the bolded part. I’m not sure why this part is so difficult for so many people to accept.

There are plenty of capable players out there, and more will hit the FA market in the next 6 weeks as the draft approaches and passes. If Poles goes into training camp counting on noteworthy contributions from rookies at WR and G and maybe CB it’s because he wants to do just that. It’s because he believes those players will give us a better chance to succeed than what was or is out there in FA. 

People lamented for years Pace’s style of signing copious amounts of FAs early in FA whose name has more value than their production on the field for the sake of trying to hold together something that wasn’t good enough in the first place, which both didn’t work and is the reason we’re where we are right now with somewhat limited financial assets, reduced draft capital and very few established young key contributors, yet Poles looks to take the opposite approach and that’s already being lamented too before we can even see what this looks like. Most felt the state of this roster needed a tear down to the studs. We had the oldest roster in the league last year and it wasn’t nearly good enough, so the new guy is purging old underwhelming players and looking to replace them with young and capable but also potentially ascending ones. He’s trying to build a team that can win for a long time, not one that will win in March of 2022. This is what a tear down to the studs looks like, yet now people are upset by it. Pick a lane.

Gotta run to work with a lot to say, but I will say that I disagree with a complete tear down in 2nd year of a rookie QB contract.  Particularly on offense side of ball.

[AZBearsFan]

5 minutes ago, dll2000 said:

Gotta run to work with a lot to say, but I will say that I disagree with a complete tear down in 2nd year of a rookie QB contract.  Particularly on offense side of ball.

It’s not ideal for sure, but it’s the situation into which Poles was hired. I look forward to your expanded thoughts on it later. 

Edited March 29, 2022 by AZBearsFan

[BEAR FACE DOWN ARROW]

8 minutes ago, dll2000 said:

Gotta run to work with a lot to say, but I will say that I disagree with a complete tear down in 2nd year of a rookie QB contract.  Particularly on offense side of ball.

If you remove Fields from this equation what they're doing is a good implementation of an aggressive and proven strategy.  With Fields in place it looks really risky, potentially very wasteful. 

This team always seems to find itself positioned in conflict with itself. 

This year it's the value of a promising rookie QB, but the context of a teardown. Unproven EVERYBODY. Hoping QB will develop, but to date the supporting cast has been all subtraction. Hope he's got what it takes to be good on his own as it doesn't appear we're willing to spend to get game changers around him to make it happen faster/sooner/easier. 

Last year might have have been the "how-to guide" in how to position a team with no regard for timing or context.  Luck in to a high prospect QB, but he's in a building with guys who want wins and repsectable losses, so we spend on yet another mediocre veteran to execute the system, while the rookie gets jack. Rookie starts anyway, and system is incoherent, team so chaotic, that both haters and fans of rookie QB can claim he proved their point. 

The one thing the Bears seem to be consistently good at, is being bad at strategy.   I will say what we're doing now is an strong and merciless move towards getting the team on the same page towards future success,  but the potential to waste what might be a good QB is very high. 

I'm living the perfect analogy for this ******* team right now and it's in my house.  We're getting solar installed shortly, but the company is moving at a glacial pace and I'm at the point where I"m about to void the contract. BUT.  My wife has called in stucco guys, who are starting TODAY (cold, raining) even though we wanted the stucco done after the electrical work is done for solar, as the electrical guys are moving some conduit and service around, which requires stucco work to make nice. PLUS, the critter control people that my wife called out (and signed a $6k contract with to deal with ONE Raccoon) have been aggresively patching cracks in our stucco with silicone, which is a) pointless since the stucco is getting done b) messing with the adhesion of the new stucco.  Plus I have an insane neighbor who is probably going to call the FBI if anyone puts a ladder on her lawn,  and this all combines with me staying close to home to deal with the ****show instead of doing my work to pay for what is quickly turning into an expensive week. And we still haven't caught our $6000 raccoon. **** this team, **** my house. 

[WindyCity]

2 hours ago, Superman(DH23) said:

Relax Windy, we are still going to sign A LOT of guys.  We are in 2nd wave of FA right now.  We'll start to get a better idea of what Poles is doing before we enter the draft.  We are currently at 54 on the roster, assuming they don't add or give up picks, the draft will only bring it up to 60, that leaves 30 more guys to add before camp.  And the thing is, there are a lot of solid starters still out there in FA at every position we need.  Its time to sit back, see what happens on the next month and get ready for the draft.  I feel like we have this same convo every year whether its about who's going to get 50 targets, or who is starting at RG, or C, or CB, the roster doesn't have to be complete until the last weekend in August, and even then it's malleable.  We have a new direction, let's see where it goes. If it doesn't work, then you can burn it down, and if it does we can take the north and never give it back.

I know we will sign guys. I am just not impressed with what is left to sign.

[AZBearsFan]

12 minutes ago, RunningVaccs said:

If you remove Fields from this equation what they're doing is a good implementation of an aggressive and proven strategy.  With Fields in place it looks really risky, potentially very wasteful. 

This team always seems to find itself positioned in conflict with itself. 

This year it's the value of a promising rookie QB, but the context of a teardown. Unproven EVERYBODY. Hoping QB will develop, but to date the supporting cast has been all subtraction. Hope he's got what it takes to be good on his own as it doesn't appear we're willing to spend to get game changers around him to make it happen faster/sooner/easier. 

Last year might have have been the "how-to guide" in how to position a team with no regard for timing or context.  Luck in to a high prospect QB, but he's in a building with guys who want wins and repsectable losses, so we spend on yet another mediocre veteran to execute the system, while the rookie gets jack. Rookie starts anyway, and system is incoherent, team so chaotic, that both haters and fans of rookie QB can claim he proved their point. 

The one thing the Bears seem to be consistently good at, is being bad at strategy.   I will say what we're doing now is an strong and merciless move towards getting the team on the same page towards future success,  but the potential to waste what might be a good QB is very high. 

I'm living the perfect analogy for this ******* team right now and it's in my house.  We're getting solar installed shortly, but the company is moving at a glacial pace and I'm at the point where I"m about to void the contract. BUT.  My wife has called in stucco guys, who are starting TODAY (cold, raining) even though we wanted the stucco done after the electrical work is done for solar, as the electrical guys are moving some conduit and service around, which requires stucco work to make nice. PLUS, the critter control people that my wife called out (and signed a $6k contract with to deal with ONE Raccoon) have been aggresively patching cracks in our stucco with silicone, which is a) pointless since the stucco is getting done b) messing with the adhesion of the new stucco.  Plus I have an insane neighbor who is probably going to call the FBI if anyone puts a ladder on her lawn,  and this all combines with me staying close to home to deal with the ****show instead of doing my work to pay for what is quickly turning into an expensive week. And we still haven't caught our $6000 raccoon. **** this team, **** my house. 

I agree with all of this except for the waste the QB part. If Fields is the guy then he’ll be good, and growth will be evident. Even if we had Justin Jefferson and DK Metcalf around him we shouldn’t expect that he’s great in year 2. We need growth. If Fields is going to be what we think he can be then what is around him is enough that it won’t stop him. If he needs greatness around him to be great then we wouldn’t be winning because of him long term but rather winning with him, which would be a disappointment. 

I mentioned Russell Wilson yesterday. Going into year 2 Wilson had 1 semi-established WR in Tate and a couple of guys who were very unproven beyond being role players Baldwin and Kearse, plus a subpar offensive line but a strong running game. Sound familiar? Mooney is a good and ascending player. Pringle is a solid and hopefully ascending player (Poles spent the last 4 years with him and seems set that all he needs is the opportunity for a bigger role that he was never getting in KC). A rookie WR will in all likelihood be able to give something of consequence and maybe much more than that. Kmet is a solid and hopefully ascending player. Our RB room is quite strong.

The cupboard isn’t bare around Fields - it just lacks star power and depth, the latter of which will certainly continue to be addressed. The situation isn’t ideal, but it’s not a death knell either if Fields is who we (and they) think he is. 

[WindyCity]

1 hour ago, AZBearsFan said:

100% this. Especially the bolded part. I’m not sure why this part is so difficult for so many people to accept.

There are plenty of capable players out there, and more will hit the FA market in the next 6 weeks as the draft approaches and passes. If Poles goes into training camp counting on noteworthy contributions from rookies at WR and G and maybe CB it’s because he wants to do just that. It’s because he believes those players will give us a better chance to succeed than what was or is out there in FA. 

People lamented for years Pace’s style of signing copious amounts of FAs early in FA whose name has more value than their production on the field for the sake of trying to hold together something that wasn’t good enough in the first place, which both didn’t work and is the reason we’re where we are right now with somewhat limited financial assets, reduced draft capital and very few established young key contributors, yet Poles looks to take the opposite approach and that’s already being lamented too before we can even see what this looks like. Most felt the state of this roster needed a tear down to the studs. We had the oldest roster in the league last year and it wasn’t nearly good enough, so the new guy is purging old underwhelming players and looking to replace them with young and capable but also potentially ascending ones. He’s trying to build a team that can win for a long time, not one that will win in March of 2022. This is what a tear down to the studs looks like, yet now people are upset by it. Pick a lane.

You are massively over rating the post draft cuts.

The issue is that we are running out of quality free agent options. The current lists are not inspiring.

I understand, big picture what they are doing. But you have to have a minimum offensive talent level for week 1 of 2022.

[WindyCity]

 

[WindyCity]